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Murloc
Murlocs are a race featured in the Warcraft series. They are a race of bipedal, amphibious humanoid race residing along coastlines, lakeshores, and riverbeds. History Though murlocs are relatively new to the Eastern Kingdoms, they are actually a very ancient race of Azeroth. Murlocs originate from an unknown Frog Ancient that spawned the gorlocs which evolved into murlocs, according to Brann Bronzebeard. The murlocs themselves evolved to survive in Azeroth's dangerous aquatic environments. Of course these ancient murlocs lived in the oceans' depths and therefore were never known to the world's early land-dwelling races. In recent times creatures have been moving in-land steadily from their oceanic dwelling places and inhabiting more areas of Lordaeron. This move in-land has resulted in them adapting to fresh-water lakes and rivers. everal clues point to the fact that their steady infiltration of the world's land masses may be a coordinated effort. Whether or not this enterprise has been undertaken strictly of their own accord is not yet known. In the last few years, the vile naga have begun reemerging from their watery abodes, causing historians to speculate that their migration may have triggered the murlocs' slow encroachment onto land. Some also guessed that the murlocs might be working in concert with the sinister amphibians; the naga may not be the only nightmarish horrors lurking in the seemingly bottomless oceans of the world. Several indicators from the murlocs themselves point to the possibility that the fish-men are but worshippers or underlings of perhaps several deep-sea monstrosities that currently lie sleeping, or at least waiting, in the murky fathoms — and even more disturbing, that the murlocs' emergence is an indication of their incipient awakening. The murlocs also became unwittingly responsible for the shape of the present-day Horde. Murlocs attacks on the trollish Darkspear tribe spurred the orcish warchief Thrall (at the time waylaid on the Darkspear Islands) and his warriors to drive off the marauding fish-men worshipping the naga Zar'jira and then to form an alliance between the Darkspear and the Horde which lasts to this day. This troll-orc alliance would form the heart of the modern day Horde, which the tauren, Forsaken, Revantusk Tribe, blood elves, Bilgewater Cartel, Dragonmaw orcs, Mok'nathal, Taunka, uncorrupted Mag'har and Stonemaul ogres would later join. Appearance Murlocs possess bulbous bodies, large mouths lined with rows of sharp fangs, and slime-coated skin. Individuals range in coloration from turquoise to darkish grey, while their heights vary from 3-1/2 feet to 6 feet. Depending on the variety, murlocs may lean towards a closer resemblance to frogs or to fish; the iconic green murloc, for example, has coloration similar to the real-world Cuban tree frog. Culture The murlocs' background are shrouded in mystery. This is due not only to the fact that these creatures appeared on Azeroth's shores fairly recently but also because murlocs shun mortals, holding little tolerance for other races, and rarely, if ever, speak anything but their own garbled language. Murlocs may appear colorful and simple to the casual observer, and their supposed intelligence has been debated. Some argue that, since their guttural language is impossibly difficult to decipher, they have limited intelligence. However, their use of weaponry and uncanny fighting abilities imply a rather sinister racial intellect. Murlocs may not be as dumb as everyone thinks they are. Several clues point to the fact that their steady infiltration of the world's land masses may be a coordinated effort. Whether or not this enterprise has been undertaken strictly of their own accord is not yet known. If threatened, murlocs are more than willing to help one another. According to Apothecary Renzithen, murlocs retain their free will in undeath, though it is unclear whether this is caused by a natural resistance to the will of the Lich King or if the undead murlocs, like the Forsaken, broke away at some point from the greater Scourge. Despite this the Scourge were able to bolster their ranks with the Mur'ghoul: a group of undead murlocs. Faith Murlocs have been known, in certain instances to worship enigmatic sea-deities (sometimes including naga). The Rockpool tribe of the Blasted Lands worships Neptulon the Tidehunter as a god. Territories, Villages & Tribes Murlocs congregate on shorelines in tribes and villages. In recent times, the murlocs have spread to many regions in both the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. On Kalimdor, the murlocs are most commonly found inhabiting inland lakes and the eastern shores, though a few tribes do prowl the long beaches between Teldrassil and Darkshore. Additionally, probably the highest level murlocs live Quel'Danas. In the Eastern Kingdoms, murlocs can be found terrorizing almost every coastal shore and inland body of water. In Northrend, the Winterfin murlocs tolerate the presence of outsiders, although their trust must be earned before one is truly accepted. Customs Some of the larger murlocs consider some cats to be a delicacy, stealing them from human settlements to cook as a treat. Subraces * Jinyu * Gorloc * Deep sea murloc * Mur'ghoul * Mutant murloc * Mur'gul Trivia & Notes Lore * Murloc scales are very expensive and often wanted by traders/merchants. * Licking a murloc will grant you visions, usually of you being mauled by an angry murloc. Category:Races Category:Warcraft Races Category:Aquatic Races